Leaderboard

Hi everyone, I know we get heated debating which dessert is the best one to order, or if a balcony room is worth it, but let's keep these basic rules in mind when chatting here. No profanity No personal insults No political discussion No debating religion A good joke about Canada, is always welcome.

Perspective is the word of the day. My cruise was a luxury. A break from life and the daily grind. It's a bummer I have to reschedule, and have to cancel my PTO request.....but ......I have an awesome family, I have my health, and....now.....I get to pick out, and plan another cruise to replace the one we just lost! So....as upset we are at losing a vacation, and the hassle of canceling hotels and excursions and such....just ask yourself......

who are working especially hard during this Covidilemma - waiting on hold with the cruise companies (ALL of them!), rebooking, refunding, repricing, upgrading - WHATEVER. I imagine they are all putting in LOTS of extra hours to help their clients. (We're looking at you, M.E.I. folks, but also so many more of the great ones out there!). We appreciate you!

It has been a crazy few days. Lots of back and forth between go and don’t go. Ultimately, a few things sealed the deal for us. Never were we worried about the virus on the ship. I am still of the mindset that the ship is likely one of the cleanest places at the moment. Quarantine on the ship was also an afterthought, because how bad could it be in the ATS? What really made us re-think over the last few days was the possibility of being further quarantined in Trenton (military base). That is where they are taking all the Canadians on the Princess ships. That does not sound like a great time. Yesterday, Delta also waived change fees for all travel this month, and Royal revised their “Cruise with Confidence” policy in that we would get back our FCC that we redeemed for this sailing. So really, we would lose nothing by not going. It was beginning to get harder to justify going. The ultimate deal breaker is that Plan B, was better than Plan A. This blog is officially, “To be continued...” in 166 days. We are sad, but at the same, for the hockey people out there, we feel like we just won the Stanley Cup of cruising! When one door closes, another one opens. 😉

Nope. I work in healthcare as an ICU RN. Wash your hands and dont cough or sneeze on people. Viruses come and go.

Why must you knock before opening the refrigerator door ? Because you wouldn’t want to catch the salad, dressing. ba-dump-bump

I know that for a lot of people outside of this community, it may seem silly to be so upset about canceled/changed cruises. However, we all understand that vacations like these are a way to escape reality and make once-in-a-lifetime moments. We all come together to enjoy these fantastic ships and destinations and we truly get to appreciate the good times. So given the hard times at the moment and what may come up, I wanted to take a moment to appreciate this community. We will get through this and cheers to our next cruise vacation (whenever it may be)! (Also thanks to @Matt obviously lol)

Did you know diarrhea is hereditary? It runs through your genes lol

Keep supporting your favorite travel content creators, like @Matt and others. They need us (and we need them) more than ever right now!! https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/style/travel-influencers-coronavirus.html (I really don't know what category this belongs in, but this is the most visited, so here it is.)

Just want to say, I appreciate @Matt and everyone I regularly interact with on this board. It's been a roller coaster this week, and I appreciate y'all for giving me an outlet and a sense that I wasn't the only one....I still don't know what the future holds for my April sailing...but I know this too, shall pass. When it does, I look forward to more joking, more debating, and more obsessing about my vacation.

For the love of all that is Holy & Healthy, let's be positive for once, just one positive thread, please? I have written the CEO & the COO asked them if they could be mindful of their amazing loyal to royal customers and implored for them a transition that is as painless as possible, especially for their staff. I pray that we get a handle on this soon, we as a family are sheltering in place not because we are scared we practice good habits, but because we were asked to. I wanted to set a good example for my kid. I refuse to be all doom and gloom, this too shall pass, I know tragedy and healing comes in due course. Since we are blessed here to know we work hard and reward ourselves by vacationing harder, our choice RCCL as soon as they sail again I hope we all jump on sailings, use those FCC"s as soon as possible, you know you are going over to Next Cruise anyway while on board. Please I implore the fans (and I know it's hard I feel for our friend @Lovetocruise2002 whose support is unwavering and then the whole FCC mishandling) but can we choose to be positive just this one thread? Thank you @Branderson610, I smiled when I read your post. My next sailing isn't until June 2020 but I am not cancelling, I am going to "let the frustration go" and roll with it. I did go ahead and book an additional amazing sailing Thanksgiving 2020 on the Odyssey too! To all of my friends here, please be safe & stay healthy WE.WILL.GET.THROUGH. THIS.

Thank you to all of you for your kind words. It seems in the TA world every year or two there is something that comes around such as this that shows people why they might not want to book direct - - the hold on the phone line or busy signal! HAHA While we are busy, it is you the client that we do this for because we love it. Because many of us at MEI have been doing this for so long, we have lots of experience at holding on the phone, placing holds for new bookings online, chatting with another agent in the agency to either vent (so we don't toss the computer or phone out the window) , and we can order a pizza for dinner because we assume we will be on the phone til after dinner! 🤣🤣🤣

I know everyone loves food so I thought my next post would be of our Day 1 dinner. To start with we had Caeser salad (no photo since everyone knows what that looks like lol). For my main I had the Slow Roaster Prime Rib was supposed to come with potato croquette, but they ended up giving me a baked potato because of my allergies. For desert I just had berries as nothing was safe for me to eat :(. Sandra also had a Caeser salad for the starter. For a main she had the Southern Fried Chicken. She also had the berries as she had some sweets in the Windjammer. I also got you guys some photos of the Windjammer dinner options. Hope you enjoyed 🙂

What do you call an arrogant criminal walking down stairs? A condescending con descending!

The build-up. Counting down the days and obsessively checking the Cruise Planner to try and snag a good deal on something. Checking a gazillion excursion websites for each port in an effort to find the best ones. Reading and re-reading the live blogs for our chosen ship in the run-up to cruise day. It's hard to get excited and enjoy the thrill of planning when you can't be sure your cruise is even going to happen.

Thanks to Jo-Ann Hall from the Navigator Facebook group for finding this out, here's what she posted... "For all of you in the same boat I am (pun intended) who has just had their cruise cancelled, I was actually able to speak to a RCCL guest services agent a little bit ago. They are offering two options: 1. either a full refund or 2. If you take a cruise credit instead of a refund you receive an additional 25% on top of what your cruise was. They aren’t processing it over the phone, he stated that we would all receive emails today or tomorrow and it will give us instructions how to get either one. He said if you do the refund it will take about 30 days to receive it. Of note, he sounded exhausted, defeated, and apologetic. Please everyone try to be extra nice to these folks. They aren’t at fault and they’re going through the same hell we are."

Do not think that is a worry at this point - but I get why people would be concerned ! they are a great and very supportive company

No cash....give me the FCC....I've already spent the cash once. It'll never trust me again.

IMG_4844.MOV Yesterday was great other than the weather. Just yours the ship with our friends who were on their first cruise. Went to the ice skating show after MDR and then stopped by the Schooner Bar, Boleros, Studio B and the Pub. Didn’t stay in any more than 15 minutes, just wanted a feel. Had to get up early for today but that’s only after I won $50 playing blackjack. I know small stakes but that’s big for me. 🙂 The folks with My time dining were very accommodating with our party of 14. i have cruised before but my major takeaway if this cruise, and forgive the All CAPS but it’s “ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT”. The worse they can say is no or offer an alternative but they will bend over backwards to accommodate most requests. Today in St.Kitts and went to the Marriott resort for the day on the beach and this hotel pool. The weather is beautiful, 83 and sunny. We have been starving for good weather. We have reservations at Wonderland tonight with the kids. Look forward to it. Sidebar: The Starbucks on board is like being at home other than they don’t have the warmer for breakfast sandwiches or lunch sandwiches. They have the vast bay majority of the drinks you want from home with the sweetness that Starbucks offers, they don’t use the Royal Caribbean sweetness. They are truly an independently owned type of operation who happen to be on a cruise ship. Yes you can use your Starbucks apps to purchase but NOT redeem. You can also use your Seapass or being a Starbucks gift card. No, your drink package DOES NOT WORK. I see this question gets asked a lot and I did myself prior to the cruise. As with most who travel on the larger boats when you pull into a port you feel as you are the big dog, the big man ok campus and compared to the other ships most folks are truly in awe. Once you get off the ship and compare to the other ships it makes you appreciate how huge this ship is. Thank you for taking the time to read my Rambling 🙂 The drones at the ice show are GREAT!

Still on the fence but the packing has begun. You all know that on top of being a “suite snob” I am also a “tea snob” right? And it’s good to be prepared in case of quarantine. 😂

Drank Mai Tais out of this all weekend.....because I needed it....

What did the Fisherman say to the Magician? Pick a cod, any cod. Why couldn't the sesame seed leave the casino? He was on a roll.

Under no circumstance should anyone book an aft balcony on any ship. As a service to all of mankind, when I cruise, I will think of the other person first and take the aft balcony off of someone else's hands. It's a heavy price for me as just one humble individual to pay, but someone's got to do it. TIC of course. Aft balconies are the bomb.

I miss everything. The excitement of embarkation day, the first drink by the pool, getting to see our room for the first time, first night in the dining room, and so on. But one thing that particularly stands out for me is watching the sun go down, the stars come out, smelling the clean ocean air, and watching the wake drift lazily behind the ship. Such a calm and peaceful experience (for me anyway).

Need to start passing this out!

I Can't wait till all these threads are buried deep in the boards and we are all discussing which excursions are the best, wether paying for the upgrade cabin is worth it, and should dress code being enforced. I miss those days

We plan to hit the local Mexican and BBQ restaurants and there is talk of finally building the LEGO Death Star. I'll be watching videos of 1740. 😄

I apologize if people who aren't on Facebook can't see this - I haven't found the YouTube link yet (if there even is one). I'm not crying, you're crying.

After all these years, my wife still thinks I'm sexy. Every time I walk by her she says, "What an ass!" My wife tells me I have two major faults. I don't listen.......and something else.

A pirate walked into a seaside tavern and asked for a drink. The bartender, turned away from the bar when the buccaneer walked in, pours the drink, but nearly drops it when he notices the sailor has a giant ship's wheel stuck to the front of his pants. "Uh, capn'," the bartender says, "I hope you don't mind me askin', but what's with that-thar wheel?" "Arrr...this thing?" The pirate asks. "|t drives me nuts."

What do you call a fish with no eyes? FSSSHHHH.

Ok from disappointment of May 10th Oasis cruise cancelled back to excitement because we rebooked Oasis Sept. 6th and we went for a Central Park balcony. We just wanted to try this category. Man this guy, this guy John Ames from MEI is incredible. He looked, saw one cabin left and just booked it for us. I told him what we wanted, he saw it was the last cabin and booked it for us. Excited again! I can't say enough about John from MEI!

It's Monday, which means it is the start of a new work week, but I prefer to think of it like the start of a new cruise week! Share your favorite embarkation day photo in this thread!

It's about trying to maintain a slow bleed that they can manage from a cash flow position. If they cancel many months at a time it's like a run on the bank and they won't have the daily reserves to handle the massive blood loss from doing it all at once. Be patient.

I’m with @Neesa on this one. I have 4 other sailings booked for this year starting in July. With all the negative news around us, these boards, and the hope of cruising again, is something that many of us are looking forward to. Great for mental health in the midst of all this social distancing and doom & gloom. While I am not oblivious to what is going on around us, I choose to remain positive through all this. 🙂

When we can cruise again the industry will need our help, I suggest we all book twice as many cruises as normal just so we can do our part...=)

Shameless display of wealth...

I'm gonna get the drink package....I deserve it after going through all this.

Matt and the entire Royal Caribbean Blog community he created is a huge benefit for all of us. We are a family. And we need to stick together in times like this. Well said, @SpeedNoodles. Here is how to support @Matt and this community: https://www.patreon.com/RoyalCaribbeanBlog

Folks, There is a rationale for these actions, whether you may agree or not. Google "flatten the curve". Briefly, by buying time preventing the expansion of this illness, one increases the chances that the healthcare system will not become overburdened with patients needing critical care. The model acknowledges that inconvenience and lifestyle disruptions will occur, but the alternative could be much worse. That said, does anybody know where I can score some TP???

Just spent about 2 hours in total on hold but I was able to get my June sailing on Navigator upgraded in a big way! Went from an interior room to an ocean view balcony and I'm getting $60 back after the entire process! It was very much worth the wait! Just saying if you have an upcoming sailing, it might not be the worst idea to give them a call now with everything going on. Figure the worst that they could say was "no we can't help you". Good luck and stay healthy everyone!

At.Thomas was good today. Got off the ship and took a Taxi to Meghan’s Bay Beach. Taxi was $10 a person one way. There were five ships in port today. Two including Symphony on one side and three other on the other side. The beach today was PACKED! They ran out of chairs and we got there around 10:30 am. If you are going to that beach I suggest getting there real early to ensure chairs, etc. if you want to rent those. The beach is absolutely beautiful and deserves the publicity it receives. It was $10 back to the port with a couple of picture stops and an hour stop shopping downtown. I was excited to find a bottle of Blanton’s bourbon today. For Bourbon drinkers it’s a very difficult find. Back at the ship ate wings at Playmakers and the kids zip-lined, Ultimate Abyss and the Arcade. Tonight, we eat Chops. Look forward to it.

I'm not overly sentimental but, remember the good old days, before Covid-19 when we would just debate whether or not shorts were acceptable in the MDR? I miss those days.

Since @Matt loves his spaghetti Bolognese on the ships and the fleet is grounded, so to say, I thought I would throw out an alternative suggestion for him to try out at home.😂 All the ingredients you need is spaghetti, hotdogs and a sauce, with a little imagination like the pic..you too can be a stellar chef! Follow me for more recipes.

What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear

I am trying not to think of this year (but I must admit I have already booked and paid for shore excursions for my Baltic cruise next year) I am the eternal optimist and I refuse to accept things will not get better by then

Not having to cook is always top of my list, but I really enjoy the escapism of a cruise. It really does help me feel disconnected from the world at large (primarily the news).

Hockey gets shutdown for 6 hours - Canada solves Coronavirus... 🙂